Jessica Harney – Ambassador for family, Club and Community

It's hard to travel around the sporting landscape in Eadestown without coming across a member of the Harney family or a member of the extended family.

Joe and Aine Harney have nine children. Sons Ethan and Adam play soccer and have been on the books of Shamrock Rovers and Cherry Orchard FC. Daughters Jessica, Katie and Lily are members of Eadestown Ladies football team. Then there’s Rebecca, Sinead, Lucia and Isabel in what Jessica describes as “a bit of a mad house.” Throw in cousin, Grace Clifford, Kildare LGFA’s most successful captain, who lifted four national trophies in the last two years. Another cousin, Tom Harney, a jockey, who has had a very successful season with the local Ross O’Sullivan yard bringing home Eagles Reign to finish second at 80/1 in Cheltenham and to win the prestigious Lartigue Hurdle in Listowel in September.

Jessica Harney, who is sixth in line to the throne, is a great ambassador for the family, for the club and for the community. Still only 22 the student at Marino College has packed a lot into her short life with Eadestown and Kildare. She enjoys playing with her two other sisters on that Eadestown team.

 “Lily is only 15, Katie 18, so it's great to play with them; it makes training fun really and it's always nice that they kind of look up to me, in a way, and I can be an influence for them,” the wing forward tells us before heading out to training in preparation for Sunday’s Leinster Final against Kilmacud Crokes. Katie has played with the Kildare minors while Lily also plays rugby with Naas and has aspirations to make the Leinster team. 

Jessica was a member of the all-conquering Kildare LGFA intermediate team of 2023 before stepping away this year because “I needed to get a bit of confidence back, and kind of, I don't know, find the love for the game a little bit more.” Harney sees her club as “actually like a county setup. You’re getting a good session in, you're eating well for training, you're sleeping well for training,” she explains. “Down here it's competitive and you're competing against each other. I love keeping fit and I love playing football especially with your family and with Grace (Clifford) and with people that you grew up with.” 

Jessica Harney says “things kind of felt different this year. That’s not to sound cocky in any sort of way, but I felt as a squad we were a lot stronger than other years. We really started playing as a team and training and we're so competitive that it was kind of like, maybe the focus was Leinster this year.” Playing ladies football since she was five Jessica Harney is grateful for the support from the Eadestown club. “The club have been amazing every year. They do so much for us, so much that we probably don't even know about. They're so humble,” she says with pride.

“Just supporters as well coming to all of our away games,” she adds. “I’m just grateful that we get to give it back to them and that we have kind of done well this year that we got to have an occasion and bring them for a day out.” “We also have a fan base there, you know,” Jessica proudly announces. “You go down to the school and they're asking for autographs. I did Cúl Camps with Ruth (Sargent) during the summer and they know your name.” 

Who might have been her hero growing up, then, we ask? “Grace”, she quickly responds.

 “I saw it at first hand the work that she put in. Seeing that when I was younger it kind of seemed so out of reach because I had her on a pedestal but the whole way up I was thinking if I stay at this and work as hard as she works I can get there.”

 Reflecting on Sunday’s opposition in Kilmacud Croke Jessica Harney says, “There's no denying that they're a very strong side, but look, so are we. I think it's so important that we don't go in with the mindset of being ultra defensive and thinking about them. This is our game too. We are giving 100% and we're going out there to win. We're not going out here scared, we just want to go out there and really give it our best shot and give it 100%.”